Semiconductor devices comprising protected side surfaces and related methods

ABSTRACT

Methods of protecting semiconductor devices may involve forming trenches in streets between stacks of semiconductor dice on regions of a semiconductor wafer. A protective material may be positioned between the die stacks and in the trenches, after which the wafer is thinned from a side opposite the die stacks to expose the protective material in the trenches. Semiconductor devices comprising stacks of dice and corresponding base semiconductor dice comprising wafer regions are separated from one another by cutting through the protective material along the streets and in the trenches. The protective material covers at least sides of each die stack as well as side surfaces of the corresponding base semiconductor die.

FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to semiconductor devices and methodsof manufacturing and protecting semiconductor devices. Morespecifically, disclosed embodiments relate to semiconductor devicescomprising stacked die assemblies having protected side surfaces andmethods of protecting side surfaces of such semiconductor devices.

BACKGROUND

During manufacturing, an active surface of a semiconductor wafer andlaterally separate stacks of semiconductor dice on die locations of thewafer may be encapsulated in a protective material. Individualsemiconductor devices comprising the stacked semiconductor dice and asemiconductor die from the wafer may be formed by cutting through theprotective material between the die stacks and through the semiconductorwafer along streets between the semiconductor devices to “singulate” thesemiconductor devices. Cutting through the semiconductor wafer at thebase of a die stack may, in some instances, introduce cracks into orotherwise damage the side surfaces of the resulting semiconductor dicecut from the wafer.

When the semiconductor devices have been separated from one another,side surfaces of each semiconductor die cut from the semiconductorwafer, which may be referred to herein as a “base” semiconductor die forthe sake of clarity, may remain exposed during subsequent processing andhandling. Specifically, while the die stacks are separated by streetsfilled with protective material, the base semiconductor dice eachcomprise wafer material extending under the streets and between adjacentdie stacks. Therefore, while the singulation process leaves protectivematerial on the sides of the die stacks, singulation of the wafer leaveswafer material on the sides of the base semiconductor dice exposed.

As a result, the side surfaces of the base semiconductor die may remainexposed as the semiconductor device is transferred to differentlocations in a facility for further processing of the semiconductordevices, during testing of the semiconductor devices, during assembly ofthe semiconductor device with higher level packaging and, in someinstances, during shipping to and use by a customer. The exposed sidesurfaces of the base semiconductor die may be damaged during suchsubsequent processing, testing, assembly and handling, for example, byincidental impacts. In addition, moisture, such as environmentalmoisture (e.g., humidity) may infiltrate an interface between theprotective material at the bottom of the die stack contacting thesurface of the base semiconductor die obtained from the semiconductorwafer. The moisture may cause the protective material to detach from thebase semiconductor die, such as, for example, through successiveexpansions and contractions of the protective material duringtemperature changes.

A semiconductor device produced from singulation of a semiconductorwafer and die stacks may subsequently be physically and electricallyattached to an interposer, forming an assembly for connection tohigher-level packaging. The die stack and base semiconductor dice maythen in some instances be encapsulated by overmolding with the same oranother protective material. The interposer undesirably adds to a finalheight of the assembly, as well as an extra process step and materialrequired by the overmolding of protective material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

While this disclosure concludes with claims particularly pointing outand distinctly claiming embodiments, various features and advantages ofembodiments within the scope of this disclosure may be more readilyascertained from the following description when read in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a semiconductor waferin a first state;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the portion of the semiconductorwafer of FIG. 1 in a second state;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the portion of the semiconductorwafer of FIG. 1 in a third state;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the portion of the semiconductorwafer of FIG. 1 in a fourth state;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the portion of the semiconductorwafer of FIG. 1 in a fifth state;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the portion of the semiconductorwafer of FIG. 1 in a sixth state;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor device from theportion of the semiconductor wafer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the portion of the semiconductorwafer of FIG. 1 in a seventh state;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the portion of the semiconductorwafer of FIG. 1 in an eighth state; and

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of asemiconductor device from the portion of the semiconductor wafer of FIG.1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The illustrations presented in this disclosure are not meant to beactual views of any particular act in a method, semiconductor wafer,semiconductor device, or component thereof, but are merely idealizedrepresentations employed to describe illustrative embodiments. Thus, thedrawings are not necessarily to scale.

Disclosed embodiments relate generally to semiconductor devicescomprising protected side surfaces and methods of protecting sidesurfaces of semiconductor devices. More specifically, disclosed areembodiments of methods of manufacturing semiconductor devices duringwhich protective material is positioned on the side surfaces ofsemiconductor dice.

In embodiments of the disclosure, a method comprises forming trenches instreets between regions of a semiconductor wafer, each region bearing acorresponding stack of semiconductor dice, positioning a protectivematerial between the stacks of semiconductor dice and in the trenches,and separating the regions of integrated circuitry and correspondingstacks of semiconductor dice through the protective material to formsemiconductor devices having the protective material on sides of thesemiconductor dice of the die stacks and side surfaces of basesemiconductor dice from the semiconductor wafer.

Referring to FIG. 1, a cross-sectional view of a portion of asemiconductor wafer 100 in a first state is shown. The semiconductorwafer 100 may include regions of integrated circuitry 102 at an activesurface 104 of the semiconductor wafer 100. Streets 106 may be locatedbetween the regions of integrated circuitry 102 comprising die locationson the active surface 104 of the semiconductor wafer 100. Thesemiconductor wafer 100 may be, for example, substantially disc-shaped,and the regions of integrated circuitry 102 and intervening streets 106may be arranged in, for example, a grid pattern on the active surface104 of the semiconductor wafer 100.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the portion of the semiconductorwafer 100 of FIG. 1 in a second state. Trenches 108, which may also becharacterized as kerfs, may be faulted in and along the streets 106between the regions of integrated circuitry 102. For example, athickness T₁ of the semiconductor wafer 100 may be partially cut throughto form the trenches 108. More specifically, one or more first blades110 configured to cut through semiconductor material (e.g.,diamond-impregnated saw blades) may be employed to partially cut throughthe semiconductor wafer 100 along the streets 106 to form the trenches108. The trenches 108 may be, for example, at least substantiallycentered between the regions of integrated circuitry 102. Thesemiconductor wafer 100 may remain intact after the trenches 108 areformed, such that the regions of integrated circuitry 102 are notphysically separated from one another. In other words, the semiconductorwafer 100 may remain a single structure of contiguous semiconductormaterial after the trenches 108 are formed.

A depth D of the trenches 108 may be greater than or equal to apredetermined final thickness T₂ (see FIG. 5) of the semiconductor wafer100 from which die stack assemblies may be singulated. For example, thedepth D of the trenches 108 may be greater than or equal to one-tenth ofthe initial thickness T₁ of the semiconductor wafer 100, which thicknessT₁ may be, for example, on the order of about 700 microns to about 750microns. More specifically, the depth D of the trenches 108 may begreater than or equal to one-third of the initial thickness T₁ of thesemiconductor wafer 100. As a specific, nonlimiting example, the depth Dof the trenches 108 may be greater than or equal to one-half of theinitial thickness T₁ of the semiconductor wafer 100. The depth D of thetrenches 108 may be greater than or equal to 40 microns. Morespecifically, the depth D of the trenches 108 may be greater than orequal to 175 microns. Further, the depth D of the trenches 108 may begreater than or equal to 235 microns. As a specific, nonlimitingexample, the depth D of the trenches 108 may be greater than or equal to350 microns.

A width W_(T) of the trenches 108 may be less than a width W_(S) of thestreets 106. For example, the width W_(T) of the trenches 108 may bebetween about one-tenth and nine-tenths of the width W_(S) of thestreets 106. More specifically, the width W_(T) of the trenches 108 maybe between about one-fourth and three-fourths of the width W_(S) of thestreets 106. As a specific, nonlimiting example, width W_(T) of thetrenches 108 may be between about one-fourth and one-half of the widthW_(S) of the streets 106. The width W_(T) of the trenches 108 may be,for example, less than 400 microns. More specifically, the width W_(T)of the trenches 108 may be, for example, between about 100 microns andabout 200 microns. As a specific, nonlimiting example, the width W_(T)of the trenches 108 may be between about 125 microns and about 175microns.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the portion of the semiconductorwafer 100 of FIG. 1 in a third state. In some embodiments, such as thatshown in FIG. 3, a stack of semiconductor dice 112 may be positionedover, electrically connected to, and physically secured to a region ofintegrated circuitry 102. For example, a stack of semiconductor dice 112may be positioned over, electrically connected to, and physicallysecured to each of at least two adjacent, corresponding regions ofintegrated circuitry 102, forming separate semiconductor devices 114between the streets 106. More specifically, a stack of semiconductordice 112 may be positioned over, electrically connected to, andphysically secured to each corresponding region of integrated circuitry102 to form precursor structures of separate semiconductor devices 114separated by streets 106. For example, and as is known to those ofordinary skill in the art, semiconductor dice 112 may be stacked, layerby layer, and electrically connected and physically secured torespective regions of integrated circuitry 102 using a thermocompressionbonding process to bond conductive elements protruding from an activesurface of a semiconductor die 112, or protruding from a region ofintegrated circuitry 102 on wafer 100, to conductive pads on a back sideof an adjacent semiconductor die 112. Such bonding may be effected, forexample, by reflowing a solder material, or by diffusion bonding. Adielectric underfill material is disposed between the semiconductor dice112 of each stack and between the semiconductor die 112 adjacent wafer100 and wafer 100. The dielectric underfill material may, for example,comprise a capillary underfill, a pre-applied non-conductive paste, anon-conductive film, a wafer-level underfill (WLUF), or a moldedunderfill.

A number of semiconductor dice in a respective stack of semiconductordice 112 may be, for example, four or more. More specifically, thenumber of semiconductor dice in a respective stack of semiconductor dice112 may be, for example, between four and sixteen. As specific,nonlimiting examples, the number of semiconductor dice in a respectivestack of semiconductor dice 112 may be four, eight, twelve or sixteen.

A respective stack of semiconductor dice 112 and the correspondingregion of integrated circuitry 102 may form a semiconductor device 114.As specific, nonlimiting examples, the semiconductor dice in the stackof semiconductor dice 112 may be memory dice and the correspondingregion of integrated circuitry 102 may comprise memory circuitry, logiccircuitry, or circuitry comprising a system on a chip (SoC).

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the portion of the semiconductorwafer of FIG. 1 in a fourth state. Protective material 116 may bepositioned along the streets 106 in the trenches 108 and between thestacks of semiconductor dice 112. For example, the protective material116 may at least substantially fill the trenches 108. More specifically,the protective material 116 may be dispensed to at least substantiallyfill the trenches 108 and extend over at least a portion of the activesurface 104 of the semiconductor wafer 100 between the stacks ofsemiconductor dice 112. As a specific, nonlimiting example, flowableprotective material 116 may be dispensed to at least substantially fillthe trenches 108, extend over a portion of the active surface 104 of thesemiconductor wafer 100, and at least substantially fill the spacesdefined between adjacent stacks of semiconductor dice 112 (e.g., theprotective material 116 may fill the streets 106 and encapsulate sidesof the stacks of semiconductor dice 112). The protective material mayoptionally also extend over the stacks of semiconductor dice 112.

The protective material 116 may be, for example, a curable polymer,which may be dispensed into position in a flowable state and then cured,using a wafer level molding process. More specifically, the protectivematerial 116 may be a dielectric encapsulant material. As specific,nonlimiting examples, the protective material 116 may be liquid compoundR4502-H1 or R4502-A1, available from Nagase ChemteX Corp. of Osaka,Japan; granular compound X89279, available from Sumitomo Corp. of Tokyo,Japan; powder compound GE-100-PWL2-implc from Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd.of Tokyo, Japan; granular compound XKE G7176, available from KyoceraChemical Corp. of Kawaguchi, Japan; or sheet compound SINR DF5770M9 orSMC-851 from Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. of Tokyo, Japan.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the portion of the semiconductorwafer 100 of FIG. 1 in a fifth state. The thickness T₁ (see FIG. 2) ofthe semiconductor wafer 100 may be reduced from a back side 118 of thewafer 100 opposing the active surface 104. More specifically, thethickness T₁ (see FIG. 2) of the semiconductor wafer 100 may be reducedfrom the back side 118 to a predetermined final thickness T₂ of thesemiconductor wafer 100 by, for example, grinding semiconductor materialfrom the semiconductor wafer 100 to remove the majority of the thicknessof semiconductor material from wafer 100, followed by an abrasiveplanarization process, such as a chemical mechanical planarization (CMP)process, to remove additional semiconductor material and, in someembodiments, expose ends of conductive vias (commonly termed “throughsilicon” vias) extending partially through the thickness T₁ of wafer100. Such thinning of the semiconductor wafer 100 to the predeterminedfinal thickness T₂ may be used to expose the protective material 116 atthe bottoms of the trenches 108 at the back side 118 of wafer 100,leaving the semiconductor wafer 100 in the form of base semiconductordice 120, and corresponding stacks of semiconductor dice 112, connectedsolely by protective material 116.

Consequently, semiconductor wafer 100 in such a state may comprise astructure of discontinuous semiconductor material of the individual basesemiconductor dice 120 separated by the trenches 108 and the protectivematerial 116 within the trenches 108. Protective material 116 within thetrenches 108 may be located on side surfaces 122 of the semiconductordice 120 obtained from the semiconductor wafer 100. For example, theprotective material 116 may extend from the active surface 104 of a basesemiconductor die 120 obtained from the semiconductor wafer 100, pastedges defined by intersections between the active surface 104 and theside surfaces 122 of the base semiconductor die 120, and along the sidesurfaces 122 of the base semiconductor die 120 to back side 118 of wafer100, which is now substantially coincident with a back side 118 of eachbase semiconductor die 120. An exposed surface of the protectivematerial 116 may be at least substantially coplanar with the back side118 of each base semiconductor die 120.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the portion of the semiconductorwafer 100 of FIG. 1 in a sixth state. Electrically conductive elements124 (e.g., conductive bumps, conductive balls, conductive pillars,solder balls, etc.) may be physically and electrically connected to eachsemiconductor device 114 in a wafer level process. For example, theelectrically conductive elements 124 may be physically and electricallyconnected to bond pads, which may comprise at least some redistributedbond pads, on a die of the stack of semiconductor dice 112 most distantfrom the base semiconductor die 120 obtained from the semiconductorwafer 100. As another example, the electrically conductive elements 124may be physically and electrically connected to bond pads on the backside 118 of the base semiconductor die 120 obtained from thesemiconductor wafer 100, if base semiconductor die 120 includesconductive vias extending to back side 118.

The stacked semiconductor dice 112 and base semiconductor dice 120comprising regions of integrated circuitry 102 and singulated from thesemiconductor wafer 100 may be separated from one another to formindividual semiconductor devices 114 from the semiconductor wafer 100.For example, a second blade or blades 126 configured to cut through theprotective material 116 (e.g., toothed metal saw blades), and differentfrom the first blades 110 (see FIG. 2), may be used to cut entirelythrough the protective material 116 along the streets 106 and within thetrenches 108 to separate the semiconductor devices 114 comprisingsemiconductor base dice 120 obtained from the semiconductor wafer 100and corresponding stacks of semiconductor dice 112 from one another. Asshown in FIG. 6, the second blades 126 may only cut through protectivematerial 116 while separating the semiconductor devices 114 from oneanother due to alignment of the cuts made by second blades 126 withstreets 106 and trenches 108.

A width W_(C) of a cut made by the second blades 126 may be less thanthe width W_(T) (see FIG. 2) of the trenches 108. For example, the widthW_(C) of the cut made by the second blades 126 may be about nine-tenthsof the width W_(T) (see FIG. 2) of the trenches 108 or less. Morespecifically, the width W_(C) of the cut made by the second blades 126may be, for example, about three-fourths of the width W_(T) (see FIG. 2)of the trenches 108 or less. As a specific, nonlimiting example, thewidth W_(C) of the cuts made by the second blades 126 may be aboutone-half of the width W_(T) (see FIG. 2) of the trenches 108 or less.Thus, after cutting by second blade or blades 126, protective material116 may remain on the side surfaces 122 of the semiconductor dice 120obtained from the semiconductor wafer 100. In other words, due to thedifference in width W_(T) of trenches 108 separating the stackedsemiconductor dice 112 and corresponding base semiconductor dice 120obtained from the semiconductor wafer 100 from one another and the widthW_(C) of the cuts made by second blades 126, the cuts made by secondblades 126 do not remove all the protective material 116 from the sidesurfaces 122 of any base semiconductor die 120 flanking the cuts. Someprotective material 116 between adjacent semiconductor dice 120 obtainedfrom the semiconductor wafer 100 may be removed, but a thickness ofprotective material 116 sufficient to cover and protect side surfaces122 of base semiconductor dice 120 remains.

In embodiments of the disclosure, a method comprises cutting partiallythrough a thickness of a semiconductor wafer to form trenches betweenstacks of semiconductor dice on regions of integrated circuitry of thesemiconductor wafer, dispensing a protective material into the trenchesand to a level at least substantially the same as a height of the stacksof semiconductor dice, removing material of the semiconductor wafer froma back side thereof at least to a depth sufficient to expose theprotective material in the trenches, and cutting through the protectivematerial between the stacks of semiconductor dice at least to a level ofthe exposed protective material within the trenches.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor device 114singulated from the portion of the semiconductor wafer 100 of FIG. 1.The semiconductor device 114 may include a base semiconductor die 120obtained from the semiconductor wafer 100. A back side 118 of the basesemiconductor die 120 may be exposed (e.g., uncovered). The back side118 may be, for example, the only exposed surface of the basesemiconductor die 120. Side surfaces 122 of the base semiconductor die120 may be covered by a protective material 116 located on (e.g.,adhered to) the side surfaces 122. An entire area of each side surface122 may be covered by the protective material 116, from an intersectionwith an active surface 104 of semiconductor die 120 to an intersectionwith the back side 118. An exposed edge surface of the protectivematerial 116 may be coplanar with the back side 118. The protectivematerial 116 may further extend over at least a portion of the activesurface 104 of the semiconductor die 120 extending peripherally inwardlyover the active surface 104 to the stack of semiconductor dice 112.Thus, the sides of the stack of semiconductor dice 112 and the surfaceof base semiconductor die 120 facing the stack, as well as side surfaces122 of base semiconductor die 120 are covered with a common, continuousprotective material 116. The completed semiconductor device 114incorporating electrically conductive elements 124 may be employedwithout an interposer or additional overmolding of protective material.

Embodiments of the disclosure include a semiconductor device comprisinga stack of semiconductor dice on a base semiconductor die of greaterlateral extent than the semiconductor dice in the stack and a common,continuous protective material adjacent sides of the semiconductor dicein the stack, a surface of the base semiconductor die facing andsurrounding the stack of semiconductor dice, and side surfaces of thebase semiconductor die.

In some embodiments and as noted above, a stack of semiconductor dice112 may be located on, physically secured to, and electrically connectedto a region of integrated circuitry 102 on the active surface 104 of thesemiconductor die 120. A footprint of each semiconductor die 112 in thestack of semiconductor dice 112 may be, for example, less than afootprint of the semiconductor die 120 obtained from the semiconductorwafer 100. More specifically, a surface area in a major plane of eachsemiconductor die 112 in the stack of semiconductor dice 112 may be, forexample, less than the surface area of a major plane of a basesemiconductor die 120 from the semiconductor wafer 100. Thus, an outerperiphery of the stack of semiconductor dice 122 is laterally inset froman outer periphery of base semiconductor die 120.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the portion of the semiconductorwafer of FIG. 1 in a seventh state. In some embodiments, such as thatshown in FIG. 8, an optional protective film 128 may be positioned onthe back side 118 of the semiconductor wafer 100 after thinning thesemiconductor wafer 100 and before separating the semiconductor devices114 obtained from the semiconductor wafer 100 from one another. Theprotective film 128 may cover the back sides 118 of each basesemiconductor die 120 obtained from the wafer 100. Each of the activesurface 104, the side surfaces 122, and the back side 118 of thesemiconductor die 120 may be protected such that none of the activesurface 104, the side surfaces 122, and the backside 118 are exposed.

The protective film 128 may be, for example, a film of polymer materialadhered to the backside 118 of the semiconductor wafer 100. Morespecifically, the protective film 128 may be, for example, a back sidecoating tape. As a specific, nonlimiting example, the protective film128 may be Adwill LC2850/2841/2824H back side coating tape availablefrom Lintec Corp. of Tokyo Japan. In some embodiments, informationrelating to the semiconductor device 114 and processing of thesemiconductor device 114 (e.g., the manufacturer, device type,components and use, batch number, device number, etc.) may be placed onthe protective film 128, such as, for example, by laser engraving theinformation onto the protective film 128.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the portion of the semiconductorwafer 100 of FIG. 1 in an eighth state. Electrically conductive elements124 may be physically and electrically connected to each semiconductordevice 114, as described previously in connection with FIG. 6. Thesemiconductor devices 114 comprising stacked semiconductor dice 112 andbase semiconductor dice 120 obtained from the semiconductor wafer 100may be separated from one another to form individual semiconductordevices 114 from the semiconductor wafer 100. For example, the secondblades 126 configured to cut through the protective material 116 may cutentirely through the protective material 116 and the protective film 128along the streets 106 and within the trenches 108 to separate thesemiconductor devices 114 from one another.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of asemiconductor device 114. The semiconductor device 114 may include abase semiconductor die 120 obtained from the semiconductor wafer 100. Aback side 118 of the base semiconductor die 120 may be covered by theprotective film 128. Side surfaces 122 of the base semiconductor die 120may be covered by the protective material 116 located on (e.g., adheredto) the side surfaces 122. An entire surface area of each side surface122 may be covered by the protective material 116, from an intersectionwith an active surface 104 to an intersection with the back side 118. Asurface of the protective material 116 substantially coplanar with thebackside 118 may contact (e.g., may be adhered to) a face of theprotective film 128 substantially coplanar with back side 118. Theprotective material 116 may further extend over at least a portion ofthe active surface 104 of the semiconductor die 120. None of thesurfaces of the semiconductor die 120, including the back side 118, theside surfaces 122, and the active surface 104 may be exposed. Thecompleted semiconductor device 114 functions without an interposer.

Thus, it is apparent that embodiments of the disclosure may beimplemented to reduce (e.g., prevent) mechanical chipping of the basesemiconductor dice of the semiconductor devices described herein, toreduce (e.g., prevent) delamination of a protective material frombetween a surface the base semiconductor die and the protective materialcovering the die stack, and to improve assembly yield and packagereliability. In addition, the need for an interposer is eliminated, asis an additional overmolding of a protective material on the assembly.The foregoing may be implemented with minimal impact to die design andwith minimal additional cost utilizing current manufacturing capability.

While certain illustrative embodiments have been described in connectionwith the figures, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize andappreciate that the scope of this disclosure is not limited to thoseembodiments explicitly shown and described in this disclosure. Rather,many additions, deletions, and modifications to the embodimentsdescribed in this disclosure may be implemented and encompassed withinthe scope of this disclosure and as claimed, including legalequivalents. In addition, features from one disclosed embodiment may becombined with features of another disclosed embodiment while remainingwithin the scope of this disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: forming trenches in streetsbetween regions of a semiconductor wafer, each region bearing acorresponding stack of semiconductor dice; positioning a protectivematerial between the stacks of semiconductor dice and in the trenches;and separating the regions of the semiconductor wafer and correspondingstacks of semiconductor dice through the protective material to formsemiconductor devices having the protective material on sides of thesemiconductor dice of the die stacks and side surfaces of basesemiconductor dice from the semiconductor wafer.
 2. The method of claim1, further comprising reducing a thickness of the semiconductor waferfrom a back side of the semiconductor wafer to a final thickness toexpose the protective material in the trenches before separating theregions of integrated circuitry and corresponding stacks ofsemiconductor dice.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein forming thetrenches comprises forming the trenches to a depth greater than or equalto the final thickness of the semiconductor wafer.
 4. The method ofclaim 3, wherein forming the trenches to the depth greater than or equalto the final thickness of the semiconductor wafer comprises forming thetrenches to a depth greater than or equal to 40 microns.
 5. The methodof claim 2, wherein forming the trenches comprises cutting partiallythrough a thickness of the semiconductor wafer using a first bladeconfigured to cut through material of the semiconductor wafer andseparating the wafer regions and corresponding stacks of semiconductordice comprises cutting completely through the protective material withinthe trenches using a second, different blade configured to cut throughthe protective material.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein separatingthe wafer regions and stacks of semiconductor dice from one anothercomprises cutting through the protective material without cuttingthrough material of the semiconductor wafer.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein forming the trenches comprises forming the trenches to a widthbetween about one-tenth and about nine-tenths a width of the streets. 8.The method of claim 7, wherein forming the trenches to the width betweenabout one-tenth and about nine-tenths the width of the streets comprisesforming the trenches to a width between about 100 microns and about 200microns.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein positioning the protectivematerial in the trenches comprises dispensing a flowable encapsulantmaterial in the trenches and curing the encapsulant material.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising positioning a protective film overa backside of the semiconductor wafer before separating the waferregions and corresponding stacks of semiconductor dice.
 11. The methodof claim 10, wherein separating the wafer regions and correspondingstacks of semiconductor dice comprises cutting through the protectivematerial and the protective film without cutting through material of thesemiconductor wafer.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein positioning aprotective material between the stacks of semiconductor dice and in thetrenches comprises positioning a protective material to one of a levelsubstantially coincident with a height of the stacks of semiconductordice and a level sufficient to extend over uppermost dice in the stacksof semiconductor dice.
 13. A method, comprising: cutting partiallythrough a thickness of a semiconductor wafer to form trenches betweenstacks of semiconductor dice on regions of integrated circuitry of thesemiconductor wafer; dispensing a protective material into the trenchesand to a level at least substantially the same as a height of the stacksof semiconductor dice; removing material of the semiconductor wafer froma back side thereof at least to a depth sufficient to expose theprotective material in the trenches; and cutting through a remainingthickness of the protective material between the stacks of semiconductordice to form semiconductor devices having the protective material onsides of the semiconductor dice of the stacks of semiconductor dice andside surfaces of base semiconductor dice from the semiconductor wafer.14. The method of claim 13, wherein removing material of thesemiconductor wafer from the back side thereof comprises at least one ofgrinding and abrasively planarizing the back side of the semiconductorwafer to remove the semiconductor material at least until the protectivematerial in each trench is exposed.
 15. The method of claim 13, whereincutting partially through the thickness of the semiconductor wafercomprises cutting partially through the thickness of the semiconductorwafer to a depth greater than a selected final thickness of thesemiconductor wafer.
 16. The method of claim 13, wherein cuttingpartially through the thickness of the semiconductor wafer comprisescutting partially through the thickness of the semiconductor wafer usinga first blade configured to cut through semiconductor material andcutting through the protective material between the stacks ofsemiconductor dice at least to a level of the exposed protectivematerial comprises cutting through the protective material within thetrenches using a second, different blade configured to cut through theprotective material.
 17. The method of claim 13, wherein cuttingpartially through the thickness of the semiconductor wafer comprisescutting partially through the thickness of the semiconductor wafer to awidth between about one-tenth and about nine-tenths a distance betweenadjacent stacks of semiconductor dice.
 18. The method of claim 13,wherein dispensing the protective material in the trenches and to alevel at least substantially the same as a height of the stacks ofsemiconductor dice comprises dispensing a flowable dielectricencapsulant material in the trenches and curing the encapsulantmaterial.
 19. The method of claim 13, further comprising positioning aprotective film over the back side of the semiconductor wafer beforecutting completely through the protective material and furthercomprising cutting through the protective film. 20-22. (canceled)